BEVERLY HILLS, May 13, (THEWILL) – It might be early for the celebrations to go off but with steely determination, hard work and a bit of good fortune, the duopoly of title winners in La Liga, of defending champions Real Madrid and Catalan heavyweights Barcelona, appears to have been broken this season by the resilience of Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.
On Wednesday, Atletico Madrid took another giant step towards the Spanish title with a hard-fought but nervy 2-1 win over Real Sociedad on their on turf at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano, to go four points clear at the top of the League standings and place one firm hand on the 2020/2021 trophy.
Los Rojiblancos came into the match with far less pressure than was expected for the game because Ronald Koeman’s Barcelona could not hold their lead the day before and dropped vital points against Levante with a disappointing 3-3 draw. The advantage returned to Atletico, who were a point ahead even before engaging La Real.
Simeone’s charges therefore made the most of that opportunity on the night and by the time the final whistle went, they had widened the gap at the top of the League to afford themselves breathing space regardless of the result from what will come about on Thursday’s tie between the third side in the title chase, Zinedine Zidane’s Real, who are away to Granada.
Luis Suarez’s return to the starting lineup of Los Rojiblancos from injury made a timely difference to Simeone’s rejuvenation of his side, which had become flustered late in the race and needed an injection of energy and purpose in attack. It was about that time when they encountered a Chelsea side that had these significant features that Atletico despaired of and it counted against the Spanish club over the two legs.
Now that they have rediscovered something of the fluidity that carried their title contention on solid legs throughout the season, Suarez only needs one extra bit to complete the form he is in, a rediscovery of his scoring boots. The 34-year-old was a threat against the Sociedad defense but just like in the Barca fixture, failed to find the telling finish to make the chances created for him to score count.
It will be a huge bonus for Atletico’s trophy run to, once again add his goals to their tally and finally place both hands on the trophy and lift it with the pride of accomplishment they deserve. There are two more games before that can happen and the Granada versus Real Thursday fixture will go a long way to ease the pressure on Atletico, if Real cannot take all three points on offer, or if the pressure will ratchet up with a Real victory.
Atletico will fancy their chances in the remaining fixtures, first at home against 11th-placed Osasuna, whom they defeated 3-1 in the reverse fixture in October last year, and the final game of the season, away to Real Valladolid, who are in 18th place and list 2-0 to Atletico in December last year at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano.
The path to the title is straight for Atletico and lies in their own hands, one of which they have already placed on the trophy. It is only a matter of time, barring any disastrous finale, before they will hoist it up in the air in celebration.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
